United Airlines opened a 54K-square-foot club at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Oct. 22, the largest airline lounge in the Americas.
The club sits on the mezzanine level of the new Terminal B North Concourse, a three-level, 765K-square-foot building with 22 mainline gates.
Seating runs to 800 across multiple zones, with two full-service bars, two buffet stations, 11 private phone rooms, and a 1.35K-square-foot outdoor terrace overlooking the airfield.
Entry follows standard United Club rules, meaning a membership, an eligible cobranded credit card, Star Alliance Gold status under certain conditions, or a premium-cabin ticket, plus a same-day boarding pass.
The concourse is the real investment
The new building replaces facilities dating to 1969 and anchors United's $2.6B Terminal B Transformation Program.
Combined with the renovated South Concourse, United will operate 48 gates in Terminal B, and every North Concourse flight boards through a jet bridge.
The carrier has put more than $3.5B into the Houston airport since 2015, including a $16M technical operations training center and a $177M ground service equipment maintenance facility.
The work supported roughly 3K construction jobs and drew on 308 Houston-based suppliers, per the airline's announcement.
Houston is United's Latin America engine
United flies to 65 international destinations from Houston, 57 of them in Latin America and the Caribbean, more than from any other hub in its network.
Latin America Dominates United’s Houston Network
United’s international destinations from Houston, by region, as of Oct. 2026
Bar chart. Destinations. Latin America & Caribbean: Destinations 57. Rest of world: Destinations 8.
This winter it adds Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Caracas, both subject to government approval, and becomes the first US carrier flying nonstop between Houston and Cartagena, Colombia.
Domestically, 2026 is United's biggest Houston schedule in over a decade at nearly 17M annual seats, after adding 10 new cities including Hartford, Chattanooga, and Spokane. The terminal raises peak-day passenger capacity 40% versus 2023.
United handles roughly 50K to 65K outbound passengers daily in Houston on 500 to 530 flights, and expects volumes to climb by next summer, vice president of airport operations Phillip Griffith said.
All 22 gates should be in service by Christmas, with the first departure scheduled for Newark.
United CEO Scott Kirby framed the project as part of a wider push on customer experience spanning aircraft, technology, and employee facilities.
Until construction at the ticketing lobby, baggage claim, and security wraps, passengers still check in at Terminal C, a reminder that the $2.6B transformation is only partly done.
